Cathy found this little gem located about 20 minutes outside of Aspen up Castle Creek Road.

A glorious day with bright blue skies and chilly temps - made for a perfect snowshoe trek adventure.

Holly outfitted us with our snowshoes and we were on our way....

Thelma and Louise - Aspen 2017

First stop along the Logan snowshoe trail was a visit to the Ghost Town of Ashcroft. The first visitors dating back to the 1880's. With a population of perhaps 2,000 the town offered two newspapers, a school, sawmills, a smelter .....and about 20 saloons!

As I peered into the Blue Mirror Saloon I saw Cathy's reflection in the window as she explored through this preserved gem.

Many a guest stayed here during her heyday but now only critters climb the steps into the Hotel View once a prominent business in this ghost town.

After visiting each of the buildings we set off on the trail which took us meandering through the woods. Creeks and critter tracks along with the peaceful quiet of the day were our guides for the afternoon.

Once the trail opened up we were adorned with a glorious view of the valley with Leahy Peak 12,762 ft. and Yellow Boy 13,023 ft. in the distance. A group of back country skiers returning from their wilderness trek gives you sense of scale as we came out from the Aspen grove. We were told you can ski/skin your way to Crested Butte ~ as the crow flies easily done in a day trip.

Once back to the cabin we were again greeted with the warmth of Aspenite hospitality. I can imagine that guitar sang many a song in these woods with a bit of foot stomping, knee slapping and dancing over the years...

Monday, January 23, 2017

We mature into women with all of the above plus our "stories" that have weaved together through our lifetime.

We connect with people throughout the years and form bonds

these bonds form a Sisterhood

A photograph is just a photograph ~ as we look back on this image for years to come we will see each individual person with our eyes but it's what is felt within our hearts that makes it special beyond words.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

I tossed the word "speed" out there and truly thought I'd be coming up with something to do with fast movement - blur perhaps. But as I've learned through this project the ideas come their own way and in their own sweet time. So I wasn't surprised when my train of thought was heading down the road of shutter speed and speed of light.

Combining these two elements became a little more tricky - but after a day or two the ideas began to gel and I went to work down in my basement. Setting up my camera for a triple exposure with my flash firing three times during each exposure to give three distinct views of my face within one single image. When I had two images I went into Photoshop and merged them into one final image presenting six faces.

"If you don't have anything to say you will force a photograph." If it is something you've lived - know and love - and feel - it's a subject you want to hold high for your reason then the photograph will not be forced. It will flow from you in every important way."
Sam Abell

enjoy,

k

Some of the nerdy details:
6 second exposure at f22 with a single flash firing on low power zoomed in at 200mm for three consecutive exposures within one frame.
Started putting things together at 4:27:47 and worked until 4:47:03
~ took just under 20 minutes to realize what I was trying was not working.
Ditched a prop and tried again starting at 4:48:51 and ending at 4:57:45
~ just under 10 minutes to shoot five triple exposure frames.
Selected two of those frames and combined them in Photoshop for my final image.
36 seconds total exposure time ~ Speed.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Tucked inside a brewery mill style building in Somerville, MA Eric, Alexandra, Anne and Molly work their magic to make the most delicious chocolate treats - Kenya coffee, garden thyme, Wigle whiskey and meyer lemon to name a few that we sampled during our visit.

Truly a "mouth party" tasting these delectable flavors.

Eric pours the melted chocolate into molds for setting.

Smoked beans gave these bars a unique and wonderful taste.

Bonbons dipped in melted chocolate and "poofed" with a bit of blue sparkle during their final process.

If you're in Harvard Square be sure to stop in for one or more of these sweet treats through February-2017 at Lizzie's Ice Cream on Church Street in Cambridge.

Monday, January 9, 2017

In November I had the pleasure of photographing The Honorable Judge Carroll for an upcoming feature article with his alma mater College of the Holy Cross. Their feature story would highlight the recovery court program that Judge Carroll pioneered based in Laconia where he presides in district court.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Had a second outing with Devon for his second round of portraits. He was looking for some without a full beard - just a bit of scruff. So we went to a location that we could get more creative in. Environmental portraits give me the opportunity to combine what my subject is bringing with the atmosphere of the location.